Fitzroy is a culinary paradise for those who don’t eat meat and/or animal products. There are scores of restaurants in walking distance of the Nunnery that serve a range of delicious, wholesome and reasonably priced vegetarian/vegan food. Let’s get to it! Here are our recommendations:
Vegie Bar
380 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.vegiebar.com.au
Vegie Bar opened in the 1990s and is a Melbourne favourite. It serves an array of vegetarian food to cater to everyone; vegan, gluten free, raw food all feature prominently on the menu. Choose from a range of burgers, pizzas, pastas, curries, nachos, salads and desserts. You may face a 20 minute (or longer) wait if you go at peak dinner time (7:30pm); try to go for lunch or early dinner to skip the queue.
Prices
Starters $4-10; mains $13-18; desserts $6-12
Hours
Sunday – Thursday: 11am-10pm
Friday, Saturday: 11am-10:30pm
Yong Green Food
421 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.yonggreenfood.com.au
Yong Green Food is an organic vegetarian/vegan restaurant with an emphasis on sustainable living. The restaurant sources its food in the most eco-friendly way possible and donates 10% of all profits to help support environmental regeneration in Kenya. The Eastern fusion style menu at Yong Green Food is adventurous; think soy fish, tempeh, quinoa fritters and mushroom calamari.
Prices
Snacks $10-15; mains $16-20; desserts $8-11
Hours
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 12-3pm, 5-10pm
Wednesday: 5-10pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 12-3pm, 5-10pm
Sunday 12-3pm, 5-9pm
Madame K’s Vegetarian
367 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
http://www.madamek.com.au/
Madame K’s serves up Thai food, almost all of which is vegan or can be served vegan on request. They serve a range of curries, noodles, soups and salads. The mock duck pancakes are always a popular choice, and other dishes use mock prawns and chicken as well as tofu and tempeh.
Prices
Small plates $6-12; mains $15-18; desserts $10-12
Hours
Monday – Friday: 5-10pm
Saturday, Sunday: 12-3:30pm, 5-10pm
Smith and Daughters
175 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.smithanddaughters.com
Smith and Daughters opened in 2015, and is already a Fitzroy favourite. They serve inventive vegan tapas, such as nachos, fried plantains, fake tuna croquettes, chargrilled asparagus, quesadilla, tofu tacos and more. Consider booking ahead!
Prices
Tapas plates $7-20; desserts $15
Hours
Monday: closed
Tuesday – Friday: 6pm-1am
Saturday 10am-1am
Sunday 10am-11pm
Fina’s 2
339 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.finascafe.com.au
Fina’s is a Vietnamese restaurant with an entirely vegetarian menu, most of which can be made vegan on request. There is a second Fina’s restaurant in Richmond, and both restaurants are run by the Nguyen family who are vegetarians for ethical reasons.
The menu is mostly noodle soups (pho), noodle salads, curries and stir fries. Customers can opt for either tofu or mock meat in their meals.
Prices
Mains $11-16
Hours
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday – Monday 11am-10:30pm
Trippy Taco
234 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
www.trippytaco.com.au
Trippy Taco serves vegetarian Mexican street food, and all of the funky burritos, quesadillas, tacos and nachos can be made vegan on request. The food is bursting with avocado, salsa, beans, cheese, jalapeños and all the good things!
Prices
Burritos $10-13; quesadillas $7-12; nachos $11-17; tacos $7-13
Hours
Monday, Tuesday: 11am-9pm
Wednesday-Friday: 11am-10pm
Saturday, Sunday: 10am-10pm
Moroccan Soup Bar
182 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy
www.moroccansoupbar.com.au
Moroccan Soup Bar is a laid back vegetarian restaurant, a Melbourne favourite. There is no menu; customers select one of two banquet options depending on how many courses you’d like, then the wait staff bring out a set menu of delicious Moroccan curries, stews, dips and desserts. They also have takeaway options. Moroccan Soup Bar is very popular – aim to get there 10 minutes before it opens to ensure you can get a table, and aim to go on a weeknight rather than a Friday or Saturday. Otherwise, if you can get a group together, they accept bookings for over 6 people.
Prices
$23 per person standard banquet; $28 per person special banquet
Hours
Monday: closed
Tuesday – Sunday: 6-10pm
Cruelty Free Shop
385 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au
The Cruelty Free Shop sells a large range of packaged vegan foods and cruelty free products, such as vegan chocolate, yoghurt, cooking ingredients, cheese, quinoa, meat substitutes and much more.
Hours
Monday: 12-5:30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday: 11am-6:30pm
Thursday, Friday: 11am-8pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 11am-5pm
Lord of the Fries
383 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.lordofthefries.com.au
Lord of the Fries is a fast food restaurant that serves burgers, hot dogs and snacks with a twist – everything is vegetarian and a lot of it is vegan! They can be found all over Melbourne.
Prices
Burgers, fries etc $4-12
Hours
Sunday – Wednesday: 11am-10pm
Thursday: 11am-11pm
Friday, Saturday: 11am-3am
Merry Cupcakes
261 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.merrycupcakes.com.au
All of the cupcakes at Merry Cupcakes are entirely vegan, containing no egg, dairy or animal products! They have a big range of flavours; red velvet, vanilla, peanut butter, chocolate, choc chip, raspberry, carrot, the list goes on! They also stock gluten free vegan cupcakes on Friday and Saturday.
Get 10% off at Merry Cupcakes when you show your Nunnery room key!
Prices
$3-3.50 per cupcake; they also sell a variety of hot and cold drinks
Hours
Sunday, Monday: 11am-5pm
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday, Thursday: 11am-6pm
Friday, Saturday: 11am-8pm
There are a lot of restaurants in Fitzroy that are not fully vegetarian but serve delicious vegetarian meals. If you’re ok with food being prepared in a kitchen that also prepares meat, or if you’re looking for a place that can cater for vegetarians along with non-vegetarians, dig into meals at the following places:
Fitz Curry Café
44 Johnston St, Fitzroy
www.fitzcurrycafe.com.au
Fitz Curry Café serves classic Indian food, including your favourite vegetarian curries; pumpkin masala, chickpea curry, saag paneer, malai kofta, daal, alu mutter and more! Delicious!
Prices
Vegetarian entrees $3-8; vegetarian mains $13; desserts $5
Hours
Monday – Sunday: 5-10pm
Bimbos
376 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.bimbodeluxe.com.au
Bimbos sells $4 pizzas. It is the cheapest pizza you will find in Melbourne, and it’s damn delicious, certainly not what you’d expect for $4. They have 11 vegetarian pizzas, including a pizza with nachos on it (corn chips, salsa, beans, jalapenos, sour cream, YUM!), and another one with vegan toppings. Sit on the rooftop and enjoy a pizza and a beer on a nice day – what more could you want?
The pizzas are $4 from 12-4pm and 7-9pm Monday-Friday, 7-9pm Saturday and all day Sunday.
Prices
$4 pizzas during the hours above; otherwise the pizzas are $8-10
Hours
Monday – Sunday: midday-1am, but the kitchen closes at 11pm
Viet Rose
363 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.vietrosefitzroy.com.au
Viet Rose is a Vietnamese restaurant and they do an amazing tofu vegetable laksa soup here, along with vegetarian stirfries. It’s also BYO alcohol.
Prices
Entrees $5-11; mains $11-16
Hours
Monday – Sunday: 5-10pm
Afghan Gallery
327 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
www.afghangalleryrestaurant.com.au
There are both vegetarian and vegan options at this small, quaint Afghan restaurant.
